Check out this great mission moment brought to you by Bolivia's Best Coffee!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=476680913643&oid=181264554416&comments
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Bolivia so far....
Well, it surely has been way too long since we posted last. Our lives have changed very much in the last two months. On October 27 we arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We were very warmly greeted by our new team members, the Timmer family. We spent our first two weeks in the Timmers guest home which they call the Hacienda. Our time there was very limited due to the busyness of getting settled. We spent much of our initial time in Bolivia looking for a house and getting Visa stuff situated. The house was found after about two weeks of searching and the Visa stuff is still on-going. We have been in the house now for six weeks and we are starting to feel a little bit more at home. It is such a blessing to be able to set up a home here in South America! God is so faithful.
Although we are not fully immursed in the ministry yet due to adjusting to our new culture, we have had several chances to get a feel for the work God is doing down here. One of our favorite parts of the ministry is the Saturday baby washing. This is an chance for homeless mothers in Cochabamba to come to the Plaza and have their children washed, dressed and fed by a host of volunteers. One of the greatest blessings has been watching our own children embrace this part of their week. Steve and I are amazed at how fast both our children and the bolivian children have opened up to each other even with a massive language barrier. We are truly touched by the smiles and laughter we witness every week. This is a precious time for the bolivian mothers as well. To have their children washed, clothed and fed every week is an awesome opportunity for them as well as for the volunteers. God is touching many lives in that plaza every Saturday!!
The girls are adjusting well to their new school environment. They go to Carachipampa Christian school which is located about 15 minutes from our house. Kendra is in 7th grade, which is High school here. Grace is in 4th grade and Emma is in 2nd. The school staff has been very friendly and helpful with the transition. We feel they are in very good hands during the day. This is an answer to our prayers!
Steven has been able to spend considerable time with Mike Timmer, our team leader since we arrived here. He has even had the chance to spend one night and two days up in the mountains. As part of a team of men, he spent two days clearing standing trees that will be used to build the next two orphanages. It was grueling work (partly due to altitude), but they accomplished a lot. And no one was hurt! Another answer to prayer. We also have both been able to spend some time at the IOU homes visiting with the house parents and the orphans. This is always quite an experience due to the language barrier. But the sense of welcome we get from the house parents is so very comforting. And the kids...we love the kids!
Steve and I are also staying busy with language classes three times a week. This is going as well as expected. It's difficult and frustrating at times, but we can see slow progress. We have to continually remind ourselves that it WILL take time and God will be faithful in this area of our lives as well. What a blessing our tutor is to us!
In the upcoming weeks and months we look forward to getting more involved in the day-to-day operations of IOU. We pray that God will fit us into the roles he has designed for us. We feel certain that he made us the way we are and brought us to this place for a purpose. We can't wait to be used by him now and in the future.
We appreciate all the support we get from friends and family. We covet your prayers for the adjustment to our new surroundings. Please pray that the language barrier becomes less and less of an issue and we can start to feel more at home in Bolivia. We are excited about this minstry and can't wait to contiue to share it with all of you. Thank you!
Steve and Cara
Although we are not fully immursed in the ministry yet due to adjusting to our new culture, we have had several chances to get a feel for the work God is doing down here. One of our favorite parts of the ministry is the Saturday baby washing. This is an chance for homeless mothers in Cochabamba to come to the Plaza and have their children washed, dressed and fed by a host of volunteers. One of the greatest blessings has been watching our own children embrace this part of their week. Steve and I are amazed at how fast both our children and the bolivian children have opened up to each other even with a massive language barrier. We are truly touched by the smiles and laughter we witness every week. This is a precious time for the bolivian mothers as well. To have their children washed, clothed and fed every week is an awesome opportunity for them as well as for the volunteers. God is touching many lives in that plaza every Saturday!!
The girls are adjusting well to their new school environment. They go to Carachipampa Christian school which is located about 15 minutes from our house. Kendra is in 7th grade, which is High school here. Grace is in 4th grade and Emma is in 2nd. The school staff has been very friendly and helpful with the transition. We feel they are in very good hands during the day. This is an answer to our prayers!
Steven has been able to spend considerable time with Mike Timmer, our team leader since we arrived here. He has even had the chance to spend one night and two days up in the mountains. As part of a team of men, he spent two days clearing standing trees that will be used to build the next two orphanages. It was grueling work (partly due to altitude), but they accomplished a lot. And no one was hurt! Another answer to prayer. We also have both been able to spend some time at the IOU homes visiting with the house parents and the orphans. This is always quite an experience due to the language barrier. But the sense of welcome we get from the house parents is so very comforting. And the kids...we love the kids!
Steve and I are also staying busy with language classes three times a week. This is going as well as expected. It's difficult and frustrating at times, but we can see slow progress. We have to continually remind ourselves that it WILL take time and God will be faithful in this area of our lives as well. What a blessing our tutor is to us!
In the upcoming weeks and months we look forward to getting more involved in the day-to-day operations of IOU. We pray that God will fit us into the roles he has designed for us. We feel certain that he made us the way we are and brought us to this place for a purpose. We can't wait to be used by him now and in the future.
We appreciate all the support we get from friends and family. We covet your prayers for the adjustment to our new surroundings. Please pray that the language barrier becomes less and less of an issue and we can start to feel more at home in Bolivia. We are excited about this minstry and can't wait to contiue to share it with all of you. Thank you!
Steve and Cara
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)